Beautiful sunset with beautiful people! A great end to the work week. You can't beat this!

No Power = FUN!

Wednesday late afternoon Devin, Lexi and I were pulling in the driveway and dark skies were quickly approaching. The wind was picking up and we could hear thunder in the distance. I had a bunch of groceries to unpack from the car before the rain moved in. I quickly got Lexi inside and continued to unpack the groceries from the van. Devin insisted on riding his little four wheeler around the yard while I was doing this. After dropping the bags off inside the front door I quickly tried to wrangle Devin in. The typical almost three year old in him started yelling 'NO' at me and was speeding away on his four wheeler. (This four wheeler MAYBE goes 2 miles an hour and I can walk faster than it which is why it's so funny he thinks he could ride away from me!) After pleading with him and trying to explain a thunder storm was coming I realized he could care less what I was saying. So I just scooped him up off of his four wheeler and carried a screaming and kicking toddler inside the house. Not a second after I closed the door lightening struck somewhere very close to our house and the thunder was so loud the windows shook. Devin had this 'what was that' face and I looked at him and told him that is why we had to come inside. He shook his head up and down and said yes, we have to go inside. A little late buddy; after embarrassing me in front of the neighbors now you agree to what I said. Nice! (Again, classic toddler behavior)

Well this storm was definitely the strongest and scariest storm we've had this summer. Lightening struck our yard, the neighbors yard; things were falling off the walls and windows the thunder was so strong. The dogs were FLIPPING out and shaking, panting, hiding, etc. The kids on the other hand were very calm. Then we lost power after a strong lightening strike. Like it normally does, I thought to myself, it'll come right back on. Nope; 2 plus hours with no power in a hot house with three terrified dogs and 2 toddlers. Now I was the one that was frightened! What was I going to do without power?

Answer: Fun activities and a terrible dinner!

The kids did some arts and craft activities by lantern until Lexi wouldn't stop eating the crayons! Then we moved to the playroom and for almost 2 hours the kids played with Lego's, Mr. Potato Head, cars, etc. They kept each other entertained for the whole time. I was shocked! I was even relaxing and reading a magazine by the light of the lantern while they were playing nicely. I also got a break from making dinner. We had breakfast bars, tostitos and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. And they loved it! I learned something new yesterday; we can survive without Thomas the Train DVD's and Elmo's ABC DVD and my kids will survive without their vegetables for a night. :-)

Love is in the Air!

This past weekend Andy and I hosted an engagement party for Nate and Cristina. The night was full of love, laughter and lots of fun! We got to mingle with familiar friends and family members and meet many new ones as well. Andy and I both said more than once to each other how nice all of their friends are and we were so happy to have met them and to celebrate with them. It was such a fun evening and I think everyone there would say so! We are so excited for Nate and Cristina to start this new chapter in their lives together. They are an adorable couple and compliment each other in so many ways. Like Andy mentions on a regular basis; if she can tolerate Nate's horrible singing then she does truly love him! LOL We kid...If you've ever heard Nate belt out 'Crash Into Me' by the Dave Matthews Bank (or any other DMB song for that matter) then you know what I'm talking about! he he he...Okay this is supposed to be a nice blog entry about Nate not making fun of him. We are truly fortunate to 'officially' add Cristina to our family; she's been a part of our family for years but now she'll officially be a Schaps! We look forward to their engagement, the wedding planning , the bachelorette/bachelor parties and sharing their big day with them. Now if they'd just pick a date and place so we could celebrate already!


Half of the pictures taken Saturday night came out blurry (User Error) but we ended up with some great pictures anyway.

Lar, Andy, Cris, Nate and Kara

The Ladies Looking Fabulous!

The Schaps Boys

The Happy Couple!

The Future Mr. & Mrs. Nate Schaps

The Besties...Andy the Best Man and Sabrina the Maid of Honor

Cristina and her beautiful mother Donna.

One of many champagne toasts!

Sabrina's toast...warming up for her toast on the big day!

I believe those hands to the right are Diane's and she was toasting

the happy couple. Andy's reaction, and the other smiles, to her toast are priceless!

Again, we are so happy for Nate & Cris and we were honored to throw their engagement party. It was a perfect evening and a great start to the many pre-wedding celebrations to come! We love you guys!

Water Painting for Dummies

Before I even begin this post there are a few things to say right off the bat! First, yes those are Christmas pajamas that Devin is wearing. Anyone with a 2, almost 3, year old understands how easy it is to just give up fighting or arguing when the toddler wants to dress him/herself! Okay I feel better about that. Second of all, NEVER attempt water painting with an active and out of control 19 month old. It equals DISASTER! Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. I'm not sure why I thought Lexi could hold a thin brush in her hand and have the patience to dip the brush in water and then in the paint and then finally onto the paper. That's too complex for her right now. But big brother Devin had a blast! I think he liked this kind of painting the best because it was the neatest of all paintings.



This was the very beginning of the project. He wasn't sure what water painting meant. Therefore, he began pouring the water on the paper! He takes things very literally.

Then he began dipping his paintbrush in the water and painting with just water! LOL




Finally mommy put down the camera and showed him how it was done. He finally understood.



Then there is Fafee...She started out liking it and not making too much of a mess.


But quickly she started painting with his her fingers and hands so I decided just to give her finger paint instead.




Then the mess began...but she had fun!



This is the mess I had to deal with...what I ALWAYS deal with!


Just look at her high chair...thank goodness it's all washable.



This is Lexi's work of art!


Devin decided to help mommy with her picture. He wanted to paint a picture of a family.


Artist hard at work!

A funny thing that happened when Devin and I were painting my picture; I asked him who I should draw in our family. Thinking he'd say all of our names and he did. He just added one more; after mommy, daddy, and Lexi he said Brennan! I asked him if Brennan was in our family and he shook his head up and down and said yes, Brennan. (our friends' Kelly & Christian's son) It was so cute! All and all we had a very nice time painting but I know next time to just give Lexi the finger paints off the bat.

I have to fill you in on what both kids are doing while I'm trying to type this. Devin is ramming his remote control race car into everyone and everything in its path. (Mainly my FEET!) He doesn't even stand in the same room as the car; just blind faith! While Lexi is trying to feed and give her milk to her Elmo doll. She actually puts food into Elmo's mouth and open and closes it. Now she's crying because the food won't stay in his mouth! All the while I'm trying to finish this post from last week and clean the house for the party we're throwing tonight. Multi-tasking in its finest form! Tonight we are throwing Nate and Cristina an engagement party and we are so looking forward to it. I will post pics soon. Have a great weekend!

Lexi's First Pedicure

Grandma Debbie painted Lexi's toes for the first time.  She loved it!

Feeding Chey Dog!

Feeding Chey Dog...Love how he tells her she'll love it! Wonder where he gets that from?! :)

Lil' Tadpoles

Last Saturday we attended our first swim class at the local community/county pool. Grandma Diane has kindly volunteered to assist me since Andy works Saturday mornings. She doesn't know what she has gotten herself into! LOL The first class was, well, interesting. Both of my kids love to be in the water but evidently they don't like being told what to do. I wonder where/who they got that from?! I would have to say that 85% of the class was fussing and or all out having tantrums. So I didn't feel embarrassed or get upset that my kids weren't following directions very well. During one break the lead instructor gathered everyone for a song and dancing in the water. Devin started yelling, NO SINGING, NO, STOP SINGING! I couldn't help but laugh and smile because it was down right hilarious. That was supposed to be the fun part!

All and all I think it was a good experience and will only get better each time. I hope my lil' tadpoles can swim on their own by the end of the course. I have high expectations but lets face it, it's a safety issue. They need to learn to swim and I will keep enrolling them in classes like this until they are more comfortable in and around the water.

My friend Leah, whose husband John and oldest son Adrey are in the same class, was on the sidelines with her newborn Charlie snapping pictures. Thank you Leah for sharing these shots with me. I love them!

Lexi and her lopsided pigtails!

Notice both pouty faces on the kids?!


Trying to get Lexi happy again!

This Saturday Grandma Diane is out of town so...we have a wonderful substitute...Cristina. Or as Devin calls her, Is Istina (Miss Cristina)! Thank you Cris for getting up early and dealing with my lil' tadpoles. xoxo

Bill's Postcards

Devin has an indescribable relationship with our friend Bill. He pretty much worships Bill and loves him dearly. Devin will bring me my cell phone and ask to call Bill. We are lucky this day and age that even though Bill is all the way out in L.A. we can Skype with him on the weekends. Devin will be so excited to Skype Bill but then when Bill gets on the computer Devin goes mute. He just stares and nods his head up and down when Bill speaks to him. Devin becomes timid and Devin's not usually shy. I think mommy and daddy abuse the love that Devin has for Bill a little bit. When I want Devin to eat more vegetables off his plate, I simply say something like, "Those are Bill's favorite" or "Bill called and asked that you please eat your vegetables". Devin will quickly eat them up. Ever since Bill brushed his teeth with Devin while he was here visiting, Devin likes to 'brush his teeth like Bill'. Bill is basically Devin's idol and he couldn't have picked a better person to look up to.

Bill has sent Devin a couple post cards recently. These make Devin's day...no...they make his week! Devin will walk around with the postcard in his hand and show people (even the dogs) and tell them that Bill sent him a postcard. When you ask what it says he remembers. They either say to remember to brush your teeth or eat your veggies. I can't believe at 2 Devin is receiving more personal mail than his parents! Here is a picture of the last postcard Bill sent:


How cute is that?! Thank you Bill for being such a great role model for Devin and caring so much to send him little notes and talking to him via Skype. He loves it and we love it. Lets just hope that your little one on the way won't be jealous of the relationship you share with Devin. LOL We can't wait to build a relationship with your little peanut and send him/her special messages too!

Another Fun Day with Friends at the Beach

We were once again invited to The Club at Barefoot Beach by Kelly and her mom Hilda. We were so excited because this time all four us could go. Andy and I were both fortunate enough to have Monday off of work. We joined Hilda, Kelly, Christian, Brennan, Tesa, Gavin, Blake, Stan, Jessica and their little girl Jada at the Beach Club. We had such a great time and the weather and water were perfect! It was mostly overcast skies so no sunburns! The kids had a blast digging holes and dumping buckets of water on each other. It was mostly Devin doing the dumping...actually Andy too now I think of it. :-)

Devin and his pal Brennan...Devin didn't want to share his tractor!

Blake playing in the sand

(Side Note: Blake & Lexi are a match made in heaven! They both like stir up trouble but innocently smile and laugh while doing so. Very cute & active toddlers indeed!!)

No that's not a Blues Brother...That's Blake's big brother Gavin.

What a cutie in those glasses!!!

Yes that's a cocktail waitress taking orders from the dads in the ocean...what service!

Jessica, Jada, Brennan, Devin, Kelly, and Lexi...Watching the waves roll in.


Kelly and Lexi

Christian hard at work helping the kids dig a pool.

Admiring their work...

Dig Lexi Dig!

Brennan helping Lexi dig...Or Lexi watching Brennan dig...not sure!

How cute are these two??

Devin collecting more water to dump on people!

Thanks to the Gilbert Ladies for once again hosting a fabulous day at the beach. It was a blast! I love that our children are building strong friendships with our best friends' children. I hope their friendships continue to grow over the years so they get to experience what it's like to have your childhood friends follow you through your ups and downs and on into adulthood. Andy and I are both very lucky in this way and it's helped mold us into the people we are today. Not sure if that's good or bad sometimes!! LOL :)

Girl's Art Smock Giveaway!

If you are interested in a FREE girl's art smock; click below to enter. It's the cutest thing ever and would make a great gift if you don't have a daughter of your own. I won June's giveaway and all I had to do was comment on the seller's items. It is really that easy!!! There is nothing weird about this giveaway and no personal info. is shared other than your first name. Click below to see this smock and enter the contest:

http://icanaffordnaples.blogspot.com/p/photography-giveaway.html

Auditioning for Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Sibling Love

It doesn't happen often but it happens...when they are so sweet to each other. Sometimes Devin gives Lexi a cracker or helps her up when she falls. Lexi will bring Devin's Max doll to him or share her drink with him. Those moments are so sweet. But on Sunday I caught several of these moments on camera and that never happens. They were sharing a love seat together and toasting each other with their juice boxes. They even threw in some hugs for me. Sibling love caught on camera and I will hold onto these so when they're fighting I can remind them that they actually love each other!

Is this hug the cutest thing you've seen?!?!?

Fafee doesn't want everyone to think she's always that sweet! LOL

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Schaps' house for the fourth. The whole family was there; Nate, Cristina and Lar all made it. We had a great time and somewhat enjoyed the firework show from their neighbors. I say somewhat because between Santana barking the whole time and Lexi running out in the street we were a little overwhelmed! Grandma and Grandpa still have the musical exersaucer that the kids played in when they were little. Lexi drug it out and hopped inside and started playing/stomping on the keyboard. She had so much fun. It was so funny because she kept hopping in it and climbing out on her own. It was much easier than when she was an infant. She once again was putting on a show for the camera...Such a cute lil' ham!

Hope everyone had a very fun and safe Fourth of July!